1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a press-contact joint connector which is constituted so that connector housings are connected in a multiple stage form.
2. Description of the Related Art
A connector housing of a press-contact joint connector is provided with a plurality of terminal housing chambers which are partitioned by cavity walls, and terminal engagement portions are provided respectively to the terminal housing chambers. A plurality of terminals to be respectively mounted into the plurality of terminal housing chambers are engaged with the terminal engagement portions, and are housed respectively in the terminal housing chambers. The plurality of terminals are composed as a terminal assembly in a stage before they are attached to the connector housing, and the terminal assembly is composed of the plurality of terminals arranged in parallel and carrier portions which connect the terminals.
However, in the above conventional press-contact joint connector, since carrier portions of the terminal assembly are formed into the continuous wave form as mentioned above, the carrier portions are arranged on the cavity walls as follows. Namely, uncut sections of the carrier portions are arranged so as to stretch over the cavity walls 4, the sections where cut spaces are formed are arranged so that the cut end surfaces of the carrier portions face each other across the notched portions. Therefore, when vibration or external force is applied to the carrier portions, the cut end surfaces of the carrier portions are brought into contact with each other, and thus the adjacent terminals are possibly short-circuited.
In addition, when the electric wires are bent, the cavity walls and the carrier portions are bent by the external force. As a result, the cut end surfaces of the carrier portions come in contact with each other, and the adjacent terminals are short-circuited.
The present invention is devised with such points in view. It therefore is an object of the present invention to provide a press-contact joint connector which is capable of ensuring insulation between adjacent terminals.
A first aspect of the invention provides a press-contact joint connector which includes: a first connector housing having a plurality of cavity walls, said first connector housing being formed with a plurality of terminal housing chambers by partitioning said first connector housing by said plurality of cavity walls; a second connector housing being connected to an upper surface of said first connector housing in a multi-stage form; and a terminal assembly having a plurality of terminals to be housed respectively in said plurality of terminal housing chambers, said terminal assembly having a plurality of carrier portions for connecting said plurality of terminals, one of said plurality of carrier portions being cut as the need arises, wherein notched portions are formed respectively in positions of said cavity walls corresponding to said carrier portions; carrier cutting holes are formed below said notched portions of said first connector housing; said carrier portions are composed of lower surface portions provided along bottom surfaces of said terminal housing chambers, stand portions which stand from said lower surface portions, and upper surface portions for connecting said adjacent stand portions; and overlap portions which are arranged so as to overlap said cavity walls are formed in positions correspondingly to said stand portions of said carrier portions.
In the press-contact joint connector according to the first aspect, sections of cut spaces are arranged so that cut end surfaces of carrier portions face each other across the notched portions, and even if an external force is applied in a direction where the adjacent stand portions come close to each other, the overlap portions of the stand portions abut against the cavity walls so that displacement is prevented. As a result, the cut end surfaces of the carrier portions do not contact with each other. Therefore, insulation between the adjacent terminals can be ensured.
A second aspect of the invention provides a press-contact joint connector which includes: a first connector housing having a plurality of cavity walls, said first connector housing being formed with a plurality of terminal housing chambers by partitioning said first connector housing by said plurality of cavity walls; a second connector housing being connected to an upper surface of said; first connector housing in a multi-stage form; and a terminal assembly having a plurality of terminals to be housed respectively in said plurality of terminal housing chambers, said terminal assembly having a plurality of carrier portions for connecting said plurality of terminals, one of said plurality of carrier portions being cut as the need arises, wherein notched portions are formed respectively in positions of said cavity walls corresponding to said carrier portions; carrier cutting holes are formed below said notched portions of said first connector housing; said carrier portions are composed of lower surface portions provided along bottom surfaces of said terminal housing chambers, stand portions which stand from said lower surface portions, and upper surface portions for connecting said adjacent stand portions; and wherein cavity holding portions which sandwich said cavity walls to rear of said notched portions are provided to a lower surface of said second connector housing.
In the press-contact joint connector according to the second aspect, the sections of the cut spaces are arranged so that the cut end surfaces of the carrier portions face each other across the notched portions, and even if an external force is applied to the cavity walls due to bending of electric wires, displacement of the cavity walls can be prevented by the cavity holding portion. As a result, the cut end surfaces of the carrier portions do not contact.
A third aspect of the invention provides the press-contact joint connector which includes: a first connector housing having a plurality of cavity walls, said first connector housing being formed with a plurality of terminal housing chambers by partitioning said first connector housing by said plurality of cavity walls; a second connector housing being connected to an upper surface of said first connector housing in a multi-stage form; and a terminal assembly having a plurality of terminals to be housed respectively in said plurality of terminal housing chambers, said terminal assembly having a plurality of carrier portions for connecting said plurality of terminals, one of said plurality of carrier portions being cut as the need arises, wherein said carrier portions are composed of lower surface portions provided along bottom surfaces of said terminal housing chambers, stand portions which stand from said lower surface portions, and upper surface portions for connecting said adjacent stand portions; said upper surface portion is cut; and said two stand portions which are separated by cutting said upper surface portion are bent respectively into said terminal housing chambers.
In the press-contact joint connector according to the third aspect, since the interval between the cut end surfaces of the carrier portions becomes larger, even if an external force is applied in a direction where the adjacent stand portions come close to each other, the cut end surfaces of the carrier portions do not contact.
A fourth aspect of the invention provides the press-contact joint connector which includes: a first connector housing having a plurality of cavity walls, said first connector housing being formed with a plurality of terminal housing chambers by partitioning said first connector housing by said plurality of cavity walls; a second connector housing being connected to an upper surface of said first connector housing in a multi-stage form; and a terminal assembly having a plurality of terminals to be housed respectively in said plurality of terminal housing chambers, said terminal assembly having a plurality of carrier portions for connecting said plurality of terminals, one of said plurality of carrier portions being cut as the need arises, wherein said carrier portions are composed of lower surface portions provided along bottom surfaces of said terminal housing chambers, stand portions which stand from said lower surface portions, and upper surface portions for connecting said adjacent stand portions; and said upper surface and said stand portions on both the sides connected to said upper surface are cut.
In the press-contact joint connector according to the fifth embodiment, since the interval between the cut end surfaces of the carrier portions becomes larger, even if an external force is applied in a direction where the adjacent stand portions come close to each other, the cut end surfaces of the carrier portions do not contact with each other.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, as it depends from the first, third or fourth aspect, wherein cavity holding portions which sandwich rear portions of said cavity walls are provided to a lower surface of said second connector housing.
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, even if an external force is applied to the cavity walls due to bending of the electric wires, displacement of the cavity walls is prevented by the cavity holding portions. As a result, the cut end surface of the carrier portions do not contact with each other. Therefore, insulation between the adjacent terminals can be ensured, and the deformation of the cavity walls can be prevented.